The Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival returns in its second edition with a month-long program of dance and theater performances, film screenings from across the African continent, an exciting lineup of Egyptian and foreign musicians, interactive art installations, and workshops for upcoming artists, as well as families and children. The festival runs across various venues in downtown Cairo from 4–28 April. For the complete program of events, please visit www.d-caf.org "Anatomia Publica" This 50-minute performance by the ManDrake Company is not about examining what goes on inside the body, but rather looks at what is brewing beneath the visible surface of our actions. 4–5 April, 8 pm AUC Falaki Theater 113 Qasr al-Aini St., Downtown, Cairo 02-2797-6373 Wetrobots 3 Bosaina and Byetone Enjoy a night of trash pop and electronic music with the Egyptian trio Wetrobots 3 Bosaina and the amazing German musician Olaf Bender, aka Byetone. 4 April, 10 pm Shahrazad Nightclub Alfi Bey St., Off Oraby Square, Downtown, Cairo Urban Visions This program aims to bring arts to public spaces. In a store vitrine on 11 Mahmoud Bassiony, choreographer Tomeo Vergas will present “Traffic,” in collaboration with Egyptian dancers Mohamed Fouad, Sherine Hegazy, Raafat El Bayoumi and Ahmed El Gendy. Performers act like conductors trying attempting to organize chaos. As visitors move to the pedestrian area in front of the stock exchange building, a number of performances await them. The nine-member Egyptian Hackers Crew will give an exciting hip-hop dance performance, followed by a contemporary dance choreography exploring the balance between dream and reality by Hossam Abdel Hameed and Mohamed Tiger. Then Dutch dance group The 100 Hands will perform “Line Engravers,” a contemporary dance collaboration with Egyptian dancers. All performances take place on 5 and 7 April, with “Traffic” starting at 2 pm, and the other performances running from 2:45 to 4 pm. West African Cinema all night For this all-night program, curator Philippe Lacote presents a selection of West African documentary and fiction films. The night starts with 2012 Ivory Coast production “Burn It Up Djassa” by Lonesome Solo, followed by “Boul Falle, the Way of Fight,” directed by the Senegalese Rama Thiaw (2009), and “Hope Travels,” directed by Michel Zongo from Burkina Faso (2011). The films are screened again separately throughout the week. 5 April, 10 pm Radio Cinema 24 Talaat Harb St., Downtown, Cairo For information on the complete program and more details on the selected events, visit the D-CAF website here.
